Sweden: Row over school ban on mentioning Jesus at Advent
A Swedish ban on mentioning Jesus in school Advent services has been attacked by Government ministers – with one calling it ‘ridiculous’. Last week the National Agency for Education in Sweden said end of term services in church were allowed, but prayers, blessings or declarations of faith were prohibited. However, Education Minister Jan Björklund said ‘pastors should be able to read the Christmas gospel, refer to the Bible, and explain why we celebrate this Christian holiday’. He criticised the agency’s interpretation of the law, and commented: ‘If this ridiculous debate continues year after year, I’m ready to review the Education Act’. Social Minister Göran Hägglund said he was ‘tired’ of having the discussion, commenting: ‘The National Agency for Education is straining out gnats and swallowing camels.’ Mr Hägglund said Swedish students have bigger things to worry about’.
Pray: against those who attack our faith; and pray that the Education Minister will use his influence to bring about changes in the law. (2Tim.1:13)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/row-over-swedish-school-ban-on-mentioning-jesus-at-advent/
Eurozone unemployment hits record high
Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high in October, with more than 170,000 extra jobs lost and youth joblessness at almost 24 per cent, as the economy slumped into recession. Overall, the eurozone had a jobless rate of 11.7 per cent in October, up from 11.6 per cent in September, with the numbers out of work rising to 18.7 million from 18.49 million, the Eurostat data agency said. Year-on-year figures from the agency showed a particularly bleak picture for under 25-year-olds, with almost one in four out of work both in the 17-nation eurozone, and 27-nation European Union - against one in five a year earlier. Compared with October 2011, an extra 279,000 young people were out of work in the EU, and 350,000 in the eurozone in October this year. The youth unemployment rate rose to 23.9 per cent in the eurozone and to 23.4 percent in the EU compared with 21.2 per cent and 21.9 per cent respectively a year earlier, Eurostat said.
Pray: that the authorities across the eurozone will be able to find a solution to the unemployment problem.
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/11/20121130121846588948.html
Eurozone unemployment hits record high
Unemployment in the eurozone hit a record high in October, with more than 170,000 extra jobs lost and youth joblessness at almost 24 per cent, as the economy slumped into recession. Overall, the eurozone had a jobless rate of 11.7 per cent in October, up from 11.6 per cent in September, with the numbers out of work rising to 18.7 million from 18.49 million, the Eurostat data agency said. Year-on-year figures from the agency showed a particularly bleak picture for under 25-year-olds, with almost one in four out of work both in the 17-nation eurozone, and 27-nation European Union - against one in five a year earlier. Compared with October 2011, an extra 279,000 young people were out of work in the EU, and 350,000 in the eurozone in October this year. The youth unemployment rate rose to 23.9 per cent in the eurozone and to 23.4 percent in the EU compared with 21.2 per cent and 21.9 per cent respectively a year earlier, Eurostat said.
Pray: that the authorities across the eurozone will be able to find a solution to the unemployment problem.
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/11/20121130121846588948.html
Would you please be the intercessor for this special Conference?
Bhutan is known as the “Land of Thunder Dragon”. Population of State: 738,267. Religion: Mahayana Buddhism. Christianity has still not been legalized in Bhutan. Recently the New Testament was released in Dzongkha, the national language of Bhutan.
The church in Bhutan is so badly divided. Nepalese are looked down upon by other Bhutanese, and there is division among Dzongkha-speaking Christians too. Unfortunately, western Christians and organizations also have contributed to this division by trusting people who claim to represent Christians in Bhutan, and foreign money has spoiled many. Extra marital affairs are another issue. So many Bhutanese Christians have lost credibility and made Christianity a money-making business. Thank God for those who are faithfully serving the Lord. Some are networking in a smaller way. The churches are divided if you are hosted by one person the other person is not happy and he will tarnish the image of the other. It looks like an impossible task to bring them together to help them catch a national vision and with right motives.
Only God can make this happen.
I would plead with you to pray for the Bhutan conference titled The Gankhar Puensum Conference 2013 in Jan 8th– 12th.
Please find the attached bookmark and pray fervently and continuously for the conference organized by SAMA Link.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
Romans 10:14
A believer in a North African country explains: "I know someone who went to Saudi to work and to seek God. One day during his time there, he got on a bus and the bus driver turned to him and said, "There is nothing for you here." He eventually returned to our own country. One day he was invited to visit the home of a worker. In their home was a painting on the wall. He was amazed and asked who was the man in the painting? They told him it was Jesus. He replied, "No, that man is a bus driver in Saudi!"
A believer in another North African country said: "I was attracted to the worship music I heard in a church. I went to church because of the music. I loved the music; it spoke to my heart. I argued about Jesus and everything else they believed in, but still I went because the music was so powerful. Eventually I found the truth about Jesus."
Some come to faith because of faithful, persistent friendship with a worker who shares the Gospel and the witness of their life. Others come to faith through reading the Scriptures. Still others hear the Good News on the radio or satellite or through the Internet. Many experience dreams and visions or other miracle healings or supernatural events.
God is creative. And each person has a unique story to tell.
Let us ask God, who is the Lord of the harvest, to BE Lord over North Africa and to bring in a great harvest across this continent. Let's ask with faith for His creative and unique ways of encountering people with the truth and reality of who He is. Let's ask that the Church be careful not to set the agenda without listening to God, and to be free from control and never to quench what the Holy Spirit is doing in North Africa. Pray that the Church will understand more and more the ways and plans of God in each city, town and village, so that they may co-labour with the Lord of the Harvest to see many enter the Kingdom of God. Pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself as the Son of God this Christmas season to many across North Africa.
Specific prayer requests:
Two workers have contacted us to request prayer for unrelated situations, both involving demonic oppression.
In one situation, a whole family have experienced a great deal of spiritual attack in their dreams. This family have heard the gospel and have finally expressed how tired they are of suffering in their sleep, and have requested the workers to come and pray with them to see relief come into their home. Pray for this opportunity to demonstrate God's power - that at the Name of Jesus, all demons will have to flee! Pray for wisdom, the right words and for protection.
In the second situation, a long time friend of a worker suddenly and without explanation began showing a totally alternate personality and her behavior became erratic. The girl's family became alarmed and afraid, and have locked her inside their home because they want to keep her safe and they are ashamed that "jinn have come to live inside" their daughter. After almost 2 months of this, the worker has been given permission to come and visit the family home and to pray with/for her friend. Please pray that God will bring deliverance, and that this will be a testimony of the power of Jesus to set people free.
NIGERIA: Police and prisoners
Two police officers died when a gunmen attacked a police base in Abuja, enabling five suspected robbers to escape. Suspected robbers and militants from the Boko Haram Islamist group are often held at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) base. The attack came a day after a double suicide bombing killed 11 people in a church inside a military barracks north of Abuja. Many are wondering how the attackers could have entered the barracks, which houses Nigeria's elite military training centre, without some inside help. The base is near several government buildings and security is normally extremely tight in the area. The militants have a history of attacking prisons and freeing Boko Haram members. Day 17 of the Year of Prayer for Nigeria tells us that contrary to God's word many Nigerians curse the police. See:
Pray: for an improved standard of recruitment of police officers; and ask God to reverse the curses people have placed on the police. Pray blessings, protection and righteousness on them. (1Tim 2:1-4.)
Nigeria: Gunmen 'dressed as soldiers' fire in pub
Ten civilians have died after gunmen stormed a pub in central Nigeria's Plateau state and opened fire on customers, authorities say. The attackers wore military uniforms according to eye witness reports, but the army has denied any involvement. ‘You can get camouflage clothes from the market,’ a military spokesman told the BBC Hausa service. Hundreds of people have been killed in Plateau state in recent years in clashes between rival ethnic groups. The state lieson the fault line between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian and animist south. As a result rival groups, split along religious, ethnic and political lines, have clashed in the region on numerous occasions over the past decade. The pub shooting took place in the remote village of Heipang in the predominantly Christian Barkin Ladi region, army spokesman Capt Salisu Ibrahim Mustapha said. No responsibility has been claimed for the attack so far.
Pray: against these ongoing attacks by those who hide under the guise of the authorities. (Pr.26:24)
More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20512754
Egypt: Tension high in Cairo after mass protests
Police and protesters clash after thousands rally overnight against President Morsi's assumption of expanded powers. Egyptian police have fired tear gas into Cairo's Tahrir Square, where several hundred protesters spent the night after a mass rally to denounce President Mohamed Morsi's action. Clashes erupting on streets near Tahrir Square spilled into the square on Wednesday morning, with canisters falling into the crowd forcing protesters to run and sending clouds of tear gas over the tents housing the demonstrators. Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid said there was a huge difference between Wednesday and Tuesday's turnout, which she said was a huge success for the opposition in terms of the amount of people they were able to rally. ‘Today, you have those die-hards who say that they will stay in the square until the president retracts his constitutional declaration,’ she said.
Pray: against these ongoing attacks by those who hide under the guise of the authorities. (Pr.26:24)
More: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/11/201211288183393655.html
India: Extremists in most violent state follow Christians to hospitals
Christians in India's most religiously intolerant state have witnessed heightened violence in the past weeks, including Hindu extremists attempting to slit the throat of a pastor as he lay hospitalized from a previous attack, sources said. Christians or their property are attacked an average of three times per week in Karnataka, Christian Legal Association Senior Advocate S. Nova Bethania told Morning Star News, who said the extremists took four Christians to a Hindu temple, where they forcibly bathed them in water and told them to eat sacrificial meat, said a pastor who goes by a single name, Annaiah. Christian leaders reported the incident to police, but officers refused to take action. Later Morning Star News reported, the Hindu extremists marched toward the district collector's office shouting anti-Christian slogans, demanded Pastor Annaiah's arrest on accusations of forceful conversion and burned an effigy of him.
Pray: for all those who are under attack from Hindu extremists that God will protect them from violent assaults. (2Th.3:3)
More: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2012/s12110134.htm
Congo: Oxfam steps up response to growing crisis
As the humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo worsens, with thousands of people fleeing new fighting, Oxfam is stepping up its supply of aid to more than 80,000 people in and around Goma. Deliveries of vital clean water have been made to people in Lac Vert camp, on the edge of Goma, many of whom have fled violence in Sake over the past few days. Oxfam teams have constructed 40 new latrines for 8,000 people sheltering in squalid conditions at the Don Bosco site in Goma city. With tens of thousands of people descending on Goma this week, and a lack of power in the city, there are serious shortages of water and better sanitation is urgently needed to prevent the spread of cholera. Tariq Riebl,the development and aid agency's humanitarian coordinator, commented: ‘Conditions here are grim. Thousands of people are sheltering in schools and churches throughout the city, under plastic sheets hung from the walls.’ Rebel forces have set out conditions for their withdrawal from Goma which they captured last week.
Pray: that negotiations between the Government and rebel forces will lead to a solution to this conflict. (Pr.15:18)
More: http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17482